Cultivo da microalga Chlorella vulgaris em efluente industrial de polpa moldada: cinética de crescimento, redução de carga orgânica e produção de clorofila

Abstract

Since water is an essential natural resource for industrial processes, there is a need for its conscious use and treatment aiming at its reuse. It is estimated that in paper and pulp factories, with an average production of 1000 ton / day, are generated amounts of residual water similar to a city of approximately 1 million inhabitants. This work aims to evaluate the effluent treatment capacity of a molded pulp industry in Paraná using the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. The microalgae was grown in undiluted and supplemented effluent, achieving reductions of 63% of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and 82% of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) reaching a maximum biomass concentration equal to 0.63 g / L. In order to take advantage of this biomass in a circular system in which the chlorophyll biopigment could be used by the industry itself, the chlorophyll content in the Chlorella vulgaris biomass was quantified in an autoclaved resulting in 0.017%. The development of an integrated process for the treatment of effluents and the production of bioproducts proved to be promising, enabling a circular economy with the generation of zero waste.